Last week I learned how to use the soldering iron and the 3D printer at CREATE. I am going to dedicate the next two posts to explaining these in detail, and then I will continue covering my research of H-Point. Today I will show you how to solder.
What is soldering? Soldering is the process where a low-melting metal alloy is used to fuse together metals that have higher melting points. This metal alloy is called solder. Typically it is 60% tin and 40% lead, giving it a low boiling point of 188 °C (370 °F).
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| Solder |
This is the soldering iron. When plugged in, the tip of the pen-like part gets very hot. This melts the solder from the spool onto the metals you are fusing.
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| (hopefully) Unplugged soldering iron |
The tip of the soldering iron gets rusty over time due to oxidation. The copper mesh shown below is used to remove rust from the tip. This is known as "tinning".
I will be soldering wires from a battery holder to a motor, to make a complete circuit. The metal in the wires and the copper pads on the motor have very high melting points, but with soldering these can be joined together easily. For the motor to work, the circuit must conduct electricity, which is why you can't just super-glue the metals together.
This is the motor I will be soldering. Earlier I completed soldering the lower copper pad.
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| Note: Small hole for wire in copper pad |
Next, I use these wire strippers to rip off the wire's plastic sleeve and expose the metal.
Then, I put the metal wire through the hole in the copper pad and twist to secure.
I have to melt the solder to close the hole in the copper pad. However, molten solder sticks to the hottest object it touches, which would be the soldering iron. To make sure it sticks to the copper pad, I must warm it up first.
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| Heating up copper pad/wire |
Now I can introduce the solder. It will melt onto the copper pad, and some of it will vaporize into the air (probably best not to breathe in).
Then, when I remove the soldering iron, the solder will quickly cool, creating a solid connection.
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| Voilà! |
When building my car, I will likely use soldering to connect motors like this to the rest of the electrical system. It's a very useful--and fun--tool!
Good description of solder. A couple of things to add. The solder is usually a tube with flux on the inside. Flux helps prevent oxidation to the copper. There is lead free solder and incorporates tin. It does not work as well as lead but close enough. When cleaning the iron, sometimes we are scraping off the left over flux. I use a wet sponge. Lastly, tinning can also be when you cover the tip of the iron with solder to prevent the tip from corroding. It looks like you are doing a great job. Are you using a DC motor to move the car? If so, what are you using to power it?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! As an electrical engineer you know a lot more about soldering than me. Yes, I am using a DC motor for the "powertrain", probably with AA cell batteries powering it. Once the mechanical components are finished I will probably have a lot of questions about the electrical system.
ReplyDeleteHi Alek, I am wondering what kind of car are you trying? Have you ever considered making a solar powered car or what?
ReplyDeleteHey Armando, I am probably going to use electric motors to power my car. It would be cool if I used a solar panel as a power source, but I don't have anything like that available at CREATE.
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